‘I’ll bet’

Lou ParrisMountains to Molehills

Monday

May 27, 2013 at 1:45 PM

Hendersonville’s Larry Mobley, responding to Doug Freeman’s thinking that the country needs to “rationally reduce the gun violence in this country with reasonable, practical and effective legislation,” says to target mental health, not gun ownership. “I’ll bet Mr. Freeman would agree with me that it is not the 3 million sane and sensible people who own guns who frighten us. It is the handful of nuts who have them,” says Mr. Mobley. “And if he is simply afraid of accidental death, then I suggest he stay off the highway, because he stands a much greater chance of getting run into or over than he has of being shot by a gun. Our problem is that there is no politically correct or confidentiality-protecting process to restrict them, so the only solution proposed so far is to take guns away from everyone. Well, guess what? Only the sane, sensible, law-abiding citizens are likely to comply. And the nuts keep theirs. How much safer would you feel then? And would you really want to restrict gun ownership to just the military? The military works for the government, the same government that does not protect border state citizens from the influx of armed illegal aliens trespassing across their property, the same government that intimidates contrary opinions (like IRS audits targeting the tea party). No, I don’t trust the government for 100 percent protection or support. We do, indeed, need better policies and procedures, but aimed at mental health, not targeting gun ownership.”

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‘MISSING SOMETHING?’: Fred Diehn of Horse Shoe says a comment making the Internet rounds put him to thinking about how values have changed in America. It reads, “When a soldier is killed in the line of duty, his family eventually gets a flag and a note conveying sympathy and respect from the United States government. When a pro basketball player announces he is gay, he immediately gets a personal phone call from the president congratulating him for his courage. Am I missing something?”

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‘MUCH BETTER JOB’: A little guy was sitting on his grandpa’s lap and studying the wrinkles on his old face. He got up the nerve to rub his fingers over the wrinkles. Then he touched his own face and looked more puzzled. Finally the little guy asked, “Grandpa, did God make you?” “He sure did, fellow, a long time ago,” replied his grandpa. “Well, did God make me?” asked the little guy. “Yes, he did, and that wasn’t too long ago,” said Grandpa. “Boy,” said the lad, “he sure is doing a much better job these days.”

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LAST BUT NOT LEAST: The Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site will host the 27th annual Carl Sandburg Folk Music Festival on Memorial Day. Best of all, it’s free, and there will be live music from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. At 10 a.m., The Shivers will stage an oldtime radio show with music on banjo, autoharp, fiddle and mandolin. At 11 a.m., Charles Wood and Micah Hanks will perform old-time and bluegrass music on banjo and guitar. Wood has won many prestigious banjo awards. He has appeared on the David Letterman show, performing with Steve Martin and Earl Scruggs. At noon, Buddy Davis and Pat Corn will be on stage playing acoustic guitars. Corn is a finger-style guitarist. He has appeared with many top-name artists including the Buddy Rich Orchestra. Davis has played with many great musicians such as Doc Watson and David Holt. At 1 p.m., Pop Ferguson and the Blues Revue will grace the stage. One of the hottest blues bands in the area, they generate excitement everywhere they perform. At 2 p.m., Jamie Laval, one of the premier Celtic fiddlers on the international music scene, will perform. Steve and Jean Smith will perform hammered dulcimer music at the historic barn area from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Reach Lou Parris at 828-694-7836 or molehills@blueridgenow.com.

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